Category: Scoop

I was talking with a soldier today about water intake. She asked me how much water I drink, and I told her I drink when I’m thirsty. She was incredulous, and said that I was probably dehydrating myself because I wasn’t drinking a gallon of water a day. I told her that I do drink a lot of coffee, tea, and water throughout the day, and I always drink when I’m thirsty. She said her coach told her she needs to drink water all day long, to which I told her that it’s probably overkill.

The reality is that our bodies are good at communicating to us. We just have to listen. When we are thirsty, our body is telling us we need to hydrate. When we are hungry, our body is telling us we need to eat more. Maybe we didn’t eat enough at the previous meal, or we’ve been exerting ourselves and we used up more calories than we took in at our previous meal. Now, let’s not confuse huger with appetite which is a false signal from the brain after we eat foods high in carbs. That’s what leads to snacking, which leads to more eating, which leads to more snacking, etc.

The same holds true for injuries. When we experience pain, we need to recognize the difference between good pain and bad pain. Good pain is muscle burn after a good workout or exercise session. Bad pain is when you feel a pulled ligament or muscle. Right now, I’m experiencing a bit of the bad pain deep in my right calf. I overdid it a little on Friday, so I took Saturday and Sunday off from running. Depending on how it feels today, I might have an easy run, or I might skip it entirely. I will listen to my body and let it tell me what the best course of action is. Ignoring bad pain can lead to serious and long-term damage that is counter to what I’m trying to accomplish: to remain fit, to gain distance, and to increase my speed.

Listen to your body’s signals. Our bodies have been talking to us since the beginning of time. It’s up to us to learn how to read those signals, and it’s up to us to listen to them to get the most out of our nutrition and exercise.

I’m a former active duty Marine, but now I’m a soldier in the National Guard. I’ve been in the Guard for over a year and a half, but I haven’t had a MOS (military occupational specialty). While I was a military policeman (MP) in the Marines, I was awaiting training from the Army to become a Field Artillery Fire Direction Control specialist. Well, I’ve been training for over a week, and I just completed the first phase of my training to become a 13J (Fire Direction Control specialist). I will be finishing up my training in just under two weeks, but as of now, I’m a nominally trained Phase 1 complete 13J.

As a Staff Sergeant, I have to learn a lot more and become proficient so that I can ensure that my troops are properly trained and that their skills are maintained. Further, I have to ensure that when we are operating in a field artillery environment, that I am able to best lead my soldiers and watch them to ensure their jobs are performed properly and safely. This puts a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, but I’m up for the task.

It fees good now that I’ve completed the first phase of my training here. To give me the best chance to succeed, I’ve used diet and exercise to ensure my body and mind were up for the challenge, and I’ve been running every other day while eating very strict Paleo at the dining facility (DFAC) here. While I initially intended to go Keto, I settled on Paleo (which is my preferred diet, anyway). I’ve been feeling very strong, and mentally sharp. Getting a good amount of sleep has helped, too.

So, I’m doing well, achieving what I’ve set out to do, and soon, I’ll be back home and able to start training my soldiers and leading them to further success. It feels good.

Let me be perfectly clear: there is no wonder product to help you lose weight and get fit. There are only TWO things in the world, known to be 100% effective, that will help you lose weight and get fit. I will list those two things here:

• Diet
• Exerise

What you eat: the quality of the food, the quantity of the food, and its wholesomeness is what will determine whether you will gain weight, lose weight, or maintain weight. What you it is also known as your diet.

Physical activity will determine your level of fitness. The more you exercise, the more fit you will become. This is good for your muscles, joints, and even your emotional and psychological health.

NOTHING else is effective. There are pills, powders, packaged products, and medical procedures that can help with artificial or quick weight loss, but none of these are known to be as effective as changing one’s diet. Plain and simple.

I keep seeing ads on Facebook for weight loss related products, and they really get me wound up. They are selling false promises and lies. I sincerely hope that people realize that weight loss is within their grasp as long as they use a little bit of perseverance.

I am often told that the reason I was able to lose the weight I lost and get fit was because I have the mindset of a winner. This struck me as strange, because I never thought of myself as a winner. I’ve been in competitive sports as a kid, but my events were all individual, and while I did my best, I didn’t have a very motivated mindset. I just did what I had to, tried my best, and hoped that the results were worthy of the effort. I didn’t always win, and I used to wonder what it took. Later in life, I realized that when I didn’t win something, it was usually because I didn’t put in the requisite effort.

What is the mindset of a winner? I think what people are referring to is actually called perseverance. Winners are people who put in the work, but then put in a little more effort. When studying for a test, practicing a skill, or preparing themselves physically for some sort of match or competition, people who are winners go the extra mile. When it comes to losing weight, there’s not much extra studying, preparation, or extra miles that will help you lose the weight. What does it is a mindset of not allowing yourself to cheat.

If there’s any one piece of advice I would give to anyone who wants to be successful at losing weight and getting fit, it’s that you have to stick with the plan. Give it time to work. Give yourself the best chance of succeeding by not varying from the diet, by doing the exercise every day you have a planned workout, and don’t let anything get into your way.

It’s easy to come up with excuses for not doing something. I can justify just about any reason to not run, and sometimes, I allow myself to do just that. Of course, I feel guilty about it, my muscles actually ache for movement, and my run times (and distances) suffer for it. It’s because of those negative results that typically, I just put on the shoes and running clothes and hit the pavement.

To do anything less is letting myself down. I don’t want to fail myself, and I don’t want to put myself into a situation where I need to do a lot more work to catch back up to where I was. I’ve lost 150 lbs: I don’t want to have to lose it, or any large portion of that, ever again. Therefore, I eat right, I exercise, and when I go off the plan, I get back on as quickly as I can and work hard to keep on the path as best as I can.

So, do I have the mindset of a winner? I don’t know about that. But I do know that I don’t allow myself to fail, I prepare as much as I can and as much as I need to allow myself to succeed, and I don’t accept anything in my diet or behavior that is contrary to me being healthy. If that’s the mindset of a winner, then perhaps I do have it. I just call it wanting something more than the alternatives.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m a preacher. I feel like I’m on a mission to save people. Not their souls, but to perhaps try to get them to understand the role nutrition plays in their daily lives, and how much impact it has on their overall health and wellbeing.

Fortunately for me, I have this blog which allows me to speak out on topics that come to mind, or to discuss things I saw, heard, or otherwise came in contact with. It’s a place where I can clear my mind and get things off my chest, so to speak. Other times, I also post topics that people have asked me directly as I figure if someone asked me, perhaps others are thinking the same question.

I don’t offer my advice unsolicited. I used to do that when I first started losing weight because I felt a duty to say something. Now, however, unless the topic comes up naturally, I keep my mouth shut.

With all that said, however, when I am asked, I feel like I go into sermon mode. I have a certain script I go by, and I try to go through as much info in as non-threatening a way as possible and I try to cover as much information as I can in a way that is easy to understand and remember. It’s my anti-sugar sermon, and perhaps one day, I’ll write it down.

For now, I’ll just keep spreading the word here on the blog, or when people ask.

So, I’m on a business trip of sorts, undergoing training in the National guard. It’s not your typical business trip: instead of a hotel, I live in a barracks (which is a lot like college dorms, truth be told) and I eat at a dining facility, also known as a DFAC. This means that there is always something going on to do, someplace to go, and food choices that are rather limited.

I’ve been learning to work within the constraints of my current situation in regards to nutrition. My primary concern is to ensure that I eat right and fuel my body with the best quality food as possible. Unfortunately, DFAC food is likely not the healthiest, as there are always more carb-heavy choices available than meats and good vegetables. However, I’ve been able to mitigate any negative impact this high-carb environment might have on me.

It would be easy to just say, “The heck with it!” and eat anything they serve. I could even try to do so in moderation. But we all know how moderation diets work (hint: they don’t). Even with their healthier choices (like bacon), I’m pretty sure it’s cured with sugar. That leaves steamed veggies at lunch and dinner, or salads. As you might know from reading my blog, I am not a salad-only kind of guy, even if that’s the only clear healthy choice available.

So, I compromise. I eat the least-bad food (in this morning’s case, the bacon) and skip the hash browns and waffles. The eggs are the best option, but they only give one ice cream scoop-sized serving (they literally will not give a second scoop, even if they see that it is all you are eating) which makes me augment my bacon and eggs with a medium-small apple. It fills me up, and while I’m sure the sugar count is higher than I’d like, it’s actually a pretty healthy breakfast.

Lunches are easy to stick to healthy-ish options, as there’s typically always some sort of meat I can eat and at least one steamed veggie as well as the side salads. It’s dinners that have been challenging, but not because of what the DFAC serves. It’s because I’ve been going out for dinners with other soldiers.

In these cases, the dinners are where my willpower is tested the most. I’ve already posted about eating Ton Katsu (Japanese panko-breaded pork cutlet) and last night, I had chicken wings (healthy) with some ranch (Keto-healthy/Paleo no-no), and some waffle fries (Paleo-ok/Keto no-go). The net result? I should be just fine. But I need to start limiting my exposure to foods that are not as good for me.

Staying with the healthiest options is my first priority, and what motivates me. Trying to drop some more weight while I’m here motivates me. Being around all these young people motivates me. But, like anyone else, the pull of yummy foods that aren’t so healthy is strong, and it’s a fight I have to undertake daily.

Something I thought about as I had to walk from the barracks to the DFAC to the classroom and then back to the barracks and back to the classroom again this morning was the fact that three years ago, even the mere thought of that much walking would have been daunting to me. Actually walking it would have worn me out. This morning, however, the only annoyance in the act itself was that it took up so much of my time. I would have preferred to run, but I didn’t want to be sweaty in class all day.

My life is radically different than it was three years ago. Not only am I healthier, weigh less, or more fit. I am also now a soldier in the National Guard, I live a much more active life, and I am able to undertake just about anything I can think of, or any adventure my wife cooks up for us. These are all things that were impossible for me to even consider three years ago.

What got me here? Eating right. No, I didn’t run every day, I didn’t starve myself, I didn’t take any pills, powders, patches, products, or have any medical procedures done to alter my body. I just ate healthy foods made from whole ingredients and avoided anything with added sugar, all grains, dairy, legumes, and soy.

People think it’s hard to give those things up. Sure, it wasn’t easy, but once I got my mind into it, it became easy. It became normal. What once may have sounded crazy or weird became normal and then something even stranger happened: I grew to not only accept my new lifestyle, but to actually enjoy it. I love the foods my wife makes for us, and I enjoy finding new foods all the time, whether they are foods she makes for us at home, or healthy foods we’re able to find out and about on our adventures.

Life is completely different now, but it’s healthier, fuller, and filled with more freedom and adventures. I did have to give up some things I loved like pizza, pasta, and bread (don’t even get me started on bread pudding!), but I gained so much more. I can now walk anywhere, for any distance, and not dread the mere thought of it.

As anyone who has read my blog for any amount of time knows, I run because I am in the National Guard, and I need to keep my fitness level high. I also have learned to enjoy it, and I like pushing myself from time to time to see if I can improve on my pace, distance run, or even to just see if I can enjoy a nice, easy run even more than before. Sounds silly, I know, but I am doing my best to keep convincing myself that running is fun. Since we do better at things we find fun, I keep trying to make running fun.

I am currently assigned out of state at a school for the National Guard, and I’m enjoying the weather by running as much as I can every other day. Why not every day? Because, as Clint Eastwood said, “A man’s gotta know his limitations.” As an older guy, I try to take it easy by having a rest day between runs. I find that this helps keep the injury rate down and allows me to enjoy running more since I’m running without pain.

I’ve run here twice now in the past three days. Today’s run was actually the longest yet, and the longest I’ve run in a few weeks due to some injuries I sustained a month ago (non-running related). It felt really good to be able to push it a little, to feel the wind rushing against me, and to push myself running up hills and to allow gravity to pull me down as I ran down those hills. Being at a higher altitude than usual upped the difficulty some, but I’m okay with that. I look forward to getting back home and being able to perform all that much better due to the denser air.

Some soldiers here asked me if I run to keep my weight in check. I told them, “Not at all; I eat right to keep my weight down. I run to keep fit.” I then ended up giving a class on the difference between nutrition and exercise and their roles in our weight and fitness. Fortunately, I think some of them got it.

I will keep running at least every other day for the rest of the time I’m here. I’m hoping to make some serious progress in my running pace and increase the distances some.

Yesterday, after finishing up at class, 9 of us decided to get together and go visit some local towns and museums. We had a great time, and we saw lots of neat things, but when it came time to eat, I suggested something without really thinking it through. Worse, everyone thought it was a great idea. What did I utter that got me into trouble? Sushi.

We went to a local restaurant that had really great prices for their food, but for me, the difficulty was in finding something that I could eat that wasn’t filled with carbs and wasn’t just expensive, small slices of fish. I failed. However, I decided to make the best of it, and I ate what I considered to be the least “bad” food? Ton Katsu. This is a breaded (with panko) pork served with rice. There was also miso soup and some salad, both of which I ate. I ate the pork (which was delicious!) but left the rice.

All in all, I made the best of the situation and got through it without troubling my dinner mates. It really was a nice time, and we had some ridiculously funny conversations.

DFAC is the acronym for Dining Facility in the Army. It’s pronounced, “De-fac,” and some even add a “T” to the end and pronounce it “De-fact.” It’s supposed to be a play on the word, “Defect.” Personally, I’ve always found food at chow halls (what Marines call a DFAC) to be decent, at worst, so I never gave much crap to our cooks. They make our food, and that food fuels us to carry out our missions. However, there have been a few exceptions to that rule: the field.

I’ve had some really bad food in the field. Last year’s AT, for example, was probably the worst food experience of my life in the military. It was also my first experience back in the military after a 20 year break, and I thought that military food had taken a general dump in that time. Fortunately, a new officer took over and really shook things up, and by the time we had our live fire exercises earlier this spring, the food was not only edible, but actually good. It was a 180 degree difference from last year’s AT food. That’s not to say it was all Paleo-friendly (it was not). But, it was good (when I did eat it; when there was pasta or other non-Paleo foods, I ate what I brought: Epic Bars and RXBars with some nuts).

My first experience with the DFAC here at the school I’m going to has been pretty positive. The eggs were not over-cooked, the bacon was crispy, and the coffee wasn’t scalding hot like the surface of the sun. That’s about it for the food choices, however. They did offer me waffles and potatoes, but I declined them. I’m trying to go keto while I’m here, and those two just don’t fit into that diet.

There were lots of fruits available: bananas, apples, and oranges. Also, there were lots of cereals and juices as well (neither of which I partook in).

I am still wondering what lunch and dinner will hold for me. If the military does anything well, it’s high-carb meals. It’s because they’re inexpensive, filling, and inexpensive. Yes, I said inexpensive twice because, well, that’s what the military is after: the most bang for the buck, and you can’t argue that high-carb meals fill the bill in that regard. It’s not the healthiest, but the military hasn’t caught on to what’s healthiest yet (and likely won’t anytime soon because it’s expensive).

So, breakfast was a win. I’m only slightly hungry after eating it (ha!), but that’s because I had too many carbs yesterday due to airplane and airport food. Starting today, I have options: if the food has too many carbs in the DFAC, I’ll either eat an Epic Bar to hold me over and eat elsewhere later, or just eat elsewhere (I’m guessing I won’t have time to eat off-post at lunch, but I will have options at dinner time).